You should now understand why a risk assessment matters, how it is carried out, and how the hierarchy of control is used to choose the right controls to eliminate or reduce the risk of a fall.

In this module we look at the most common types of work equipment used for working at height in any workplace: mobile towers, low-level access platforms, mobile elevating work platforms, ladders and stepladders. For each one you will learn what it is for, how it is set up, how it is checked, and the rules for using it safely.

Remember that a thorough risk assessment must be carried out by a competent person before any work at height takes place, and that the equipment is chosen using the hierarchy of control. A ladder is never the automatic choice just because it is the nearest thing to hand.

The topics covered in this module are:

• Mobile towers
• Erecting mobile towers
• Safe use of mobile towers
• Low-level access platforms
• Mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs)
• Safe use of ladders and stepladders
• Checking ladders before use
• Positioning and securing ladders
• Safe use of stepladders

Mobile towers, also called tower scaffolds, provide a safe alternative to a full scaffold for many routine maintenance, installation and repair jobs. They are collective protective equipment: a working platform with guardrails and toe-boards that protects everyone on it. A mobile tower should be considered whenever avoiding the work at height, or using an existing safe place, is not practicable.

Mobile towers are a much safer alternative to ladders. When choosing work equipment, a tower should always be preferred to a ladder wherever it is practicable to use one.

Used wrongly, however, a tower can overturn or collapse and cause serious injury. So it is essential that:

• Every tower is suitable for the job and the loads it will carry.
• It is assembled and dismantled only by people with formal training in that type of tower.
• Everyone who works on it has been trained in its safe use.
• It is complete, properly maintained and in good condition, with all guardrails, toe-boards, braces and stabilisers in place.

Mobile towers may be hired from an equipment hire company or owned by the employer. In both cases the tower must be erected by a trained person, properly inspected and maintained, and used only by people who understand how to use it safely.

When a tower is hired, the hire company must supply it complete and in good working order, with all its components, including guardrails, toe-boards, braces and stabilisers, and with the manufacturer's instructions. The employer who hires it is responsible for making sure that a trained person erects and dismantles it and that their own employees are trained to use it and to use all its safety features.

When an employer owns a tower, they must make sure that a formally trained, competent person erects it; that the manufacturer's instructions for erecting, dismantling and inspecting it are available; that the tower is stored safely and kept in good condition; and that it is complete, with every guardrail and toe-board, before it is used.

Whoever owns it, an incomplete tower must never be used.

There are two recognised safe methods of erecting and dismantling a mobile tower. Both make sure that guardrails are in place before anyone stands on a platform:

• 1. The through-the-trap, or 3T, method. The person building the tower stands on the ladder inside the tower with their body through the trapdoor of the platform, so that they never stand on an unguarded platform. From that position they fit or remove the guardrail frames on the level above.
• 2. The advance guardrail method. Temporary guardrail units are fitted from the level below and moved up to the next platform level before anyone climbs onto it. Once they are in place, the person climbs up and fits the permanent guardrails from inside the protection.

Whichever method is used, the tower must stand on firm, level ground with the castors locked and properly supported. Never use bricks, blocks or timber packing under the wheels or base plates, and never build the tower higher than the maximum height allowed by the manufacturer for the base size and the stabilisers fitted.

Once a tower has been erected it must be properly stabilised before anyone works from it. To stabilise a mobile tower:

• Fit the stabilisers or outriggers in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, at the correct angle and with all four in contact with the ground. If there is not enough space to fit them, ask the manufacturer or supplier for advice; do not simply leave them off.
• Never build the tower higher than the maximum height recommended by the manufacturer. The safe height depends on the base dimensions, on whether the tower is indoors or outdoors, and on the stabilisers fitted.
• Check that every brace, frame and platform is locked in place, and that the castors are locked.
• Tie the tower to the building where the manufacturer requires it, for example for tall towers or where it will be sheeted or used outdoors.
• Inspect the completed tower before it is used, and record the inspection where the platform is two metres or more above the ground.

Every year people are seriously injured because a mobile tower was used wrongly. Everyone working on or around a tower must understand the rules. When using a mobile tower you must:

• Never move a tower while people, tools or materials are on it. Everyone comes down first.
• Never move a tower in windy conditions, on sloping or uneven ground, or near overhead cables, and never pull it along by climbing on it.
• Never climb up the outside of a tower. Use the built-in ladder or stairway inside it, so that the tower cannot overturn and you cannot fall from the outside.
• Never use a tower in strong winds; the manufacturer states the maximum wind speed.
• Never use a tower as a support for ladders, trestles or any other access equipment, and never use a ladder on a platform to gain extra height.
• Never use a tower that has broken or missing parts, or that mixes incompatible components from different makers.
• Never overload the platform beyond its rated capacity.

Employers must provide the correct internal access ladders or stairways and make sure that every working platform has full edge protection: guardrails at the right heights and toe-boards all round.

Low-level access platforms, usually called podium steps or podiums, are another safe alternative to ladders and stepladders for short-duration work at low height, such as fixing cable tray, decorating or stocking high shelves. They give the user a small guarded platform, typically up to about 1.5 metres high, with a gate that closes behind them.

Anyone using a podium platform at work must check it before each use. Before using the platform, check that:

• The wheels can lock, and are locked, before anyone climbs up.
• The guardrails, the gate and the platform are all in good condition and correctly assembled.
• The platform is set up on firm, level ground with the stabilisers, where fitted, in position.
• The platform is not overloaded and the tools and materials on it are secure.

All users must be trained before they use a podium, and must be told never to overreach from it, because a podium that is leant on sideways can overturn.

Mobile elevating work platforms, or MEWPs, are powered machines that lift a guarded platform, with the people and tools on it, to the place of work. They give safe access to areas that would otherwise be difficult or dangerous to reach. The two most common types are:

• 1. Boom lifts, also called cherry pickers. A telescopic or articulating boom carries a small basket, which can reach up and over obstructions and into restricted areas. Larger machines can reach considerable heights.
• 2. Scissor lifts. A large platform rises vertically on a scissor mechanism. It offers a wide working platform and a greater load capacity, ideal for installing services along a ceiling.

MEWPs are a safer alternative to ladders, but they can overturn, be struck by vehicles, or trap the operator against a structure if they are used wrongly. To make sure they are used safely, employers must:

• Plan every job that involves a MEWP, including the route to the work area and the ground it will stand on.
• Make sure the MEWP is never overloaded and is used only for the purpose it was designed for.
• Make sure everyone who operates or rides in a MEWP has been formally trained on that type of machine.

MEWPs carry their own risks, so before one is used it is important to consider:

• The height at which the work will take place, and which type of MEWP suits the task.
• The ground conditions: slopes, soft ground, drains, kerbs and voids that could make the machine unstable or overturn.
• Clearance above and around: enough room between the top of the platform and any overhead obstruction, and a safe distance from overhead power lines.
• Other obstructions and traffic: protruding steelwork, tree branches and pipes that could catch or crush the operator, and passing vehicles that must be kept away with barriers.
• Fall protection: in a boom lift, a harness with a short restraint lanyard clipped to the designated anchor in the basket, so that the operator cannot be catapulted out if the machine jolts.
• Inspection and maintenance: that the machine has been thoroughly examined and maintained as the manufacturer requires, and that the daily pre-use checks have been done.
• Training: that every operator holds formal training for that category of MEWP.

A rescue plan must be in place whenever a MEWP is used, and it must be practised. There must always be someone on the ground who knows the plan and can operate the machine's ground controls to bring the platform down if the operator cannot.

Ladders and stepladders are used for work at height every day, but they are less safe than the equipment covered so far, and they may only be used when the risk assessment shows that safer equipment is not reasonably practicable. In general, use a ladder or stepladder only for work that is low risk and short duration, up to about 30 minutes in one position. To decide whether a job is suitable for a ladder, you must:

• Consider the height required and whether a safer alternative, such as a podium or a tower, is available.
• Make sure you can keep three points of contact with the ladder at all times: two feet and one hand, or two hands and one foot.
• Make sure the work is within easy reach and will not require you to overreach.
• Carry only light tools and materials, up to about 10 kg, and never overload the ladder.
• Make sure the ladder is stable, correctly positioned and properly secured before you climb.
• Check the ladder is in good condition before every use.

Consider the surroundings as well: overhead power lines, doors that could be opened into the ladder, traffic, and the weather.

Before each use, carry out a check of your ladder or stepladder. Look at the:

• Stiles: the side rails must not be bent, buckled, cracked or damaged in any way; a damaged stile can collapse.
• Feet: the rubber feet must be present, clean and not worn or damaged, because they are what stops the ladder slipping.
• Rungs or steps: they must not be bent, buckled, worn, loose or missing, and they must be clean and dry.
• Locking mechanisms: on a stepladder the spreader bars and hinges, and on an extension ladder the rung hooks and locks, must be in place, undamaged and working.
• Platform and tool tray on a stepladder: not cracked, buckled or loose.
• Fixings and rivets: nothing loose, missing or corroded.

A ladder that fails any of these checks must be taken out of use, labelled, and reported to your supervisor. Never try to repair a ladder yourself.

When using a ladder or stepladder, always:

• Rest the ladder on a firm, level, clean, non-slip surface.
• Make sure the rungs or steps are level before you climb.
• Keep three points of contact at all times: both feet and one hand.
• Face the ladder when climbing and working, and use a tool belt or a tool holder so that your hands are free.
• Keep your belt buckle inside the stiles, with both feet on the same rung or step.

Never:

• Rest a ladder on movable objects such as pallets, drums or bricks, or exceed its rated load.
• Overreach; move the ladder instead.
• Stand on the top three rungs of a leaning ladder, or on the top two steps of a stepladder unless it has a platform and a handrail. They are there to hold on to.
• Use a ladder or stepladder in strong winds, near overhead power lines, or on a surface that could move.
• Use a ladder sideways on, or put a ladder on a tower or a platform to gain extra height.

When using a leaning ladder, you must always:

• Position it at an angle of about 75 degrees: one unit out from the wall for every four units up. Too steep and it can topple backwards; too shallow and the feet slip out.
• Rest the top against a solid surface such as a wall or a stand-off device, never against a fragile surface such as plastic guttering, a window or a roof light.
• Make sure the ladder extends about one metre, roughly three rungs, above the landing point if you are stepping off it, so there is a handhold.
• Secure the ladder so that it cannot slip, using these precautions in this order: first, tie the stiles to a suitable anchor point at the top or the bottom of the ladder; second, where that is not possible, use an effective ladder stability device; third, and only as a last resort, have the ladder footed by a second person who keeps both hands on the stiles and one foot on the bottom rung.
• Check the ladder before every use, as described on the previous slides.

Stepladders are involved in a great many falls, mostly from overreaching or from standing on the top steps. When using a stepladder, you must always:

• Open it fully and make sure the locking devices or spreader bars are completely engaged before you climb.
• Set it on firm, level ground with all four feet in contact with the surface.
• Position the steps so that they face the work, not sideways to it; side loading is what tips a stepladder over.
• Keep both feet on the same step and your body between the stiles; do not overreach, move the steps instead.
• Avoid working off the top two steps unless the stepladder has a platform and a handrail designed for it.
• Avoid side-on work such as drilling into a wall from the steps, where the sideways force can overturn them.
• Check the stepladder before every use, and never use one that is damaged.

A stepladder is for short, light work at low level. For anything longer, heavier or higher, use a podium, a tower or a MEWP.